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Shane Pinto suspended 41 games for activities related to sports gambling |
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Written By: Ken Hawkins (a.k.a khawk)
It's funny how the moment when things appear to make the least sense, they suddenly make perfect sense once you break down the key assumption that obscured the truth. The lack of an RFA extension for Shane Pinto had been routinely framed as incompetence on the part of GM Pierre Dorion, but now seems more like a professional courtesy on the part of the team. The air is beginning to clear even further, as news broke earlier today that the NHL would be suspending Shane Pinto for 41 games for his involvement in sports gambling.
TSN: Senators' Pinto to be suspended for 41 games by NHL
https://www.tsn.ca/nhl/national-hockey-league-suspends-ottawa-senators-shane-pinto-41-games-for-sports-wagering-1.2026370
Details are sparse in terms of the exact nature of the infraction of NHL rules, but the fact that the suspension is for a 1/2 season would suggest it wasn't directly involving Senators games, or quite at a Pete Rose level of severity. In terms of the precise duration, it's been noted that the 41 games would include the first 6GP the team has played so far, so it would impact the next 35GP of the season. That would peg his earliest return to the lineup as the game on Jan. 21, 2024 vs. the Philadelphia Flyers.
Of note, the league has apparently also suspended the Dec. 1 deadline for signing RFA players in order to allow for a contract to be signed by Pinto after the end of the suspension. The latter could actually play quite well to the team's cap situation, and effectively amount to a significant trade deadline addition at a fraction of the AAV cost. However, this is a very thin silver lining for a team that seriously needs to re-focus on their on-ice performance.
What are your thoughts on the "Sugar" Shane Pinto situation? Please feel free to comment below, and thanks as always for reading!
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